Robbie Williams13.2.1974

Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer-songwriter, and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That, but has found greater commercial success as a solo artist.

Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and group members, Williams left the group in 1995 to launch his solo career. On 15 July 2010, it was announced he had rejoined Take That and that the group intended to release a new album in November 2010 which became the second fastest-selling album in UK chart history and the fastest-selling record of the century so far. In 2006 Williams entered the Guinness Book of World Records for selling 1.6 million tickets of his Close Encounters Tour in a single day.

Williams has sold over 70 million records worldwide, which ranks him among the best-selling music artists worldwide. He is the best-selling British solo artist in the United Kingdom and the best selling non-Latino artist in Latin America. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the United Kingdom. He has also been honoured with seventeen BRIT Awards—more than any other artist—and seven ECHO Awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted as the "Greatest Artist of the 1990s." Williams is married to actress Ayda Field.

Discography

The discography of Robbie Williams, contains nine studio albums, one live album, five compilation albums, forty-one singles, thirty-nine music videos, ten video albums and a number of other appearances.

After leaving Take That in 1995, Williams launched his solo career by releasing a cover version of George Michael's "Freedom"; which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in summer 1996. His debut album, Life thru a Lens, was released in September 1997. The first single, "Old Before I Die", also reached number two in the UK. The second single, "Lazy Days", was released in mid-1997 and peaked at number eight in the UK. "South of the Border", the third single, reached number fourteen. "Angels" was released as the album's fourth single and it became Williams' best seller in the United Kingdom, being certified 2× platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The fifth and final single from the album, "Let Me Entertain You", peaked at number three in the UK. The first single taken from Williams's second album, "Millennium", became Williams' first solo number-one single in the UK in September 1998 and was certified Gold by the BPI. It also became a top-twenty hit in many European countries and Australia. The album I've Been Expecting You, was released in late October 1998; it debuted at number one in the UK. The next single, "No Regrets", reached number four in the UK and was certified Silver by the BPI. The third single, "Strong", peaked at number four. The fourth single, "She's the One", became his second number-one hit in the UK and was certified Gold by the BPI in early 2000. The album I've Been Expecting You was eventually certified 10× Platinum by the BPI. The first single taken from his next album, "Rock DJ", again reached number-one in the UK. The song also reached number one in New Zealand. The single went on to be certified Platinum by the BPI. When the album Sing When You're Winning was released in August 2000, it topped the charts in Germany, New Zealand, and The Netherlands and secured top-ten placings in Austria, Australia and Sweden. In the UK, the album debuted at number one and went on to be certified 8× platinum by the BPI. The second single, a collaboration with Australian singer Kylie Minogue, "Kids", reached number two in the UK. Further singles were "Supreme" and "Better Man". "Eternity", a track that was not featured on the album, was released in mid-2001 backed with "The Road to Mandalay" and became his fourth number-one single in the UK. In 2004 he topped the UK Charts again with the more experimental sound of "Radio", then in 2012 he scored his seventh solo UK number-one single with "Candy".

His record sales stand at 17.794 million in the UK and at over 57 million worldwide. In Australia, Williams has sold over 2.5 million albums.